Shooting the French Model 1935A Pistol

[duelist1954]

The French Model 1935A pistol isn't something I run across very often. The .32 French Long cartridge has been obsolete for decades, so putting together ammunition is a major operation. I've gotten some custom made brass and developed a load, so in this video we'll see how this old pistol does on the range.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OamV22m4PLo

 

[Certaindeaf]

Neat video. Thanks for putting that together. It was entertaining and informative.
I had one of those like 30 years ago. Shot it regularly with military surplus ball. Even back then that stuff was kinda hard to get but it was available through the Shotgun News. As I remember it, that ammo was likely steel cased and a sintered iron jacketed slug. It was black/dark and laquered.
It had a bit of bark and blast and was pretty accurate.
I love the ergos (not the safety though of course) of that pistol and the modular lockwork etc.
Good work on working up a load for that. That's something right there. Good luck on improving it.
I've never loaded Berdan primed cases.. I wonder if that'd be worth it for some.

 

[Pilot]

You don't see these around much anymore. I bought one about 15 or so years ago, and promptly realized that if I was going to shoot it I had to reload for it. I bought some reformed brass, and have been reloading it with .30 Luger bullets using an RCBS die made for the caliber. It is a nice shooting gun, with an odd trigger that you can get used to. The safety setup is also odd, but I do not use this pistol for anything but a range toy.

 

[1KPerDay]

Very interesting. Thanks for another great video.

 

[tekarra]

Back in the 70s or 80s, these pistols were common on the surplus market. Ammunition was in short supply so I did not purchase one. However, it did feel good in my hand.